Peter Mac's Fundraising 'Merger'
30 January 2006 at 12:01 pm
The Peter Mac Cancer Centre in Melbourne is regarded as a leader in fundraising best practice. Now it has appointed to a new executive director to lead a merger of its two fundraising arms!
Glen Kruger has the job of merging the Peter Mac Foundation, which was established in 2002, with the long standing Community Relations and Fundraising Department.
In October 2005, Sharon McHale stepped down from her role with the Foundation to go on maternity leave and Michelle Trevorrow made a career change after many years as an award winning fundraiser with the Community Relations and Fundraising Department.
As the first Executive Director of the merged Peter Mac Foundation the Cancer Centre says Glen Kruger brings extensive experience in fundraising, business administration and charitable and philanthropic work to the position.
Kruger says that Peter Mac has a powerful and influential board headed by Prof Lester Peters and the merger will allow the organisation to continue in best practice fundraising.
He says the merger will also ensure there is no duplication of work and improve donor relationships.
Kruger says the challenge is to keep everyone informed while all the legal procedures are put in place. This will be followed by an information and identification campaign aimed at donors in coming months.
Kruger is a relatively new Australian, having migrated here with his wife from South Africa in 1994. Naturalised in 1998, they decided to make Melbourne their home and they have two young sons.
As a fundraiser, he has helped raise funds for causes as diverse as schools and medical research, to elephants and international conferences.
Kruger’s first Australian foray into fundraising was to run the Business Development Project for the new elephant enclosure with the Melbourne Zoo.
He was the first CEO of the Education Trust Victoria (ETV), established to build partnerships between state schools in Victoria and the business community and more recently was the Chief Executive of the NRMA Foundation.
The merger is expected to be completed by July 2006.
